This invention relates to an electrical connector which is capable of being connected in an environment potentially occupied by fluids and/or gases, such as is found within a borehole.
It is very often desirable to establish an electrical connection within an environment such as that present within a borehole. This type of environment, however, usually involves high pressures and temperatures and a combination of fluids, solids and gases as inhabitants, which make the downhole electrical connection very difficult and complex. The existing electrical connectors that have been developed for fluid environments in general, typically utilize a two-part mateable connector, i.e. a male member and a female member with the female member including a receptacle which is adapted to closely receive a portion of the male member. Both the female member and the male member contain one or more electrically conductive elements thereon which establish electrical contact with each other when the male member is inserted into the female member. To enable this connector to operate within a fluid environment a complex arrangement of plungers and pistons is generally used to evacuate the fluid contents of the receptacle, or a dielectric oil is contained within the receptacle to ensure electrical isolation even in the presence of an invading fluid, or the connector uses some combination of the above. The complex configurations which result are generally expensive to manufacture and typically prone to failure.
Any use of such general fluid environment connectors in a borehole environment introduces even further difficulties because of the extreme pressure and temperature conditions which are present within the borehole.